Renters in metro Atlanta paid an average $77 more in January than a year earlier, feeling the sting of higher prices regardless of whether they stayed put or ventured into buying a home.
Axiometrics said Atlanta had the seventh-highest effective rent growth among the nation’s major markets.
The $962 average rent reflected an annual effective rent growth rate of 8 percent, compared with 7.4 percent in December, according to the apartment market research firm Axiometrics. The effective rent takes into consideration promotions such as one month free rent or other concessions that cost the landlord money.
Axiometrics said Atlanta had the seventh-highest effective rent growth among the nation’s major markets.
“This will probably continue, because we forecast demand to exceed new supply throughout 2015, even though Axiometrics has identified 6,960 new units to be delivered this year,” Stephanie McCleskey, vice president of research, said in releasing the report on the Atlanta rental market.
As with the housing market, metro Atlanta’s rising rental prices reflect limited supply of available units. The apartment occupancy rate remained at 93.8 percent for a third straight month in January, Axiometrics said.
Metro Atlanta home prices also continue to rise with the continued tight supply of homes on the market. The Atlanta Board of Realtors reported the median price of a home sold in the region last month was $203,000, up 13.4 percent compared to January 2014. Traditional home sales, with fewer investors involved, made up a larger proportion of the market and those sales tend to come at higher prices.
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